Hidemyass Create Account – HMA HideMyAss! VPN Review – 2019

Introduction Hidemyass Create Account

Hide My Ass! (HMA!) Is a UK-based company, with Its claim to fame has been its huge number of readers — it has more than 400 million today. This supplier has witnessed its fair share of controversy with regards to user privacy. It made updates to it support. Hidemyass Create Account

We took it To get a test run to find out how much it has improved and if it is well worth the cost.

What’s a VPN?

When you trigger a VPN, it generates an encrypted tunnel to Guard your information as it passes from the computer to a server controlled by the VPN. From that point, your data releases onto the open net. It’s a simple idea, but one with tremendous impacts for your privacy and safety.

It prevents anybody lurking Network from intercepting or monitoring your activity. While the airport or coffee shop Wi-Fi system looks safe (it might even be password-protected) it is not actually secure unless you’re using a VPN. For another thing, a VPN may prevent your Internet Service Provider (ISP) from gathering information about your online activities so it could sell anonymized user information to the maximum bidder.

A VPN makes it difficult to correlate your Online activities together with your own identity. Because your traffic is exiting from the VPN company’s server, you appear to have its IP address, effectively concealing your true location. It also compels even the most determined attacker to test and sort through all of the visitors from other users on the exact same VPN server to obtain what they are after. For these reasons, and much more, you want a VPN on your life.

Note that a VPN only encrypts your traffic until it exits via the VPN server. Provided the site your information should be protected all the way. Also, while VPNs can provide a modicum of anonymity, a tool such as the Tor network is far better at concealing your identity.

Journalists and activists have long used vPNs To circumvent censorship in countries with repressive internet policies. They’re also handy if you’re looking to circumvent geographical constraints on streaming content. A VPN can spoof your existing place, providing you with access to restricted content like BBC streaming or MLB TV. Some VPNs don’t enjoy these activities (which might be in breach of terms of service or even local legislation ) and content providers such as Netflix are also cracking down on users that spoof their location and the VPN providers they utilize to perform it.

There is a Fantastic opportunity Which you might have never laid hands on a VPN before. Don’t worry, if that is the case! We’ve got an entire feature about how to set up and use a VPN. Hidemyass Create Account

VPN Protocols

There are many techniques to create a VPN connection. My Preferred method uses the OpenVPN protocol, which is famous for its speed and reliability. It’s also open minded, and therefore has been chosen over for potential vulnerabilities by anyone with the interest to do so.

Hide My Ass utilizes OpenVPN on Windows, with an older variant That supports PPTP, and L2TP, too. There are also two different versions of this macOS app which, taken together, support IPSec (IKEv1 and v2), L2TP, and PPTP. Note that these old versions of this program are being phased out by the developer. The iOS version uses only IPSec, and the Android app uses just OpenVPN.

That’s a bit of a hodgepodge, and I am disappointed that Hide My Ass doesn’t offer OpenVPN on all platforms. That said, a number of the issue is using the platforms. Apple requires programmers to jump through extra hoops if they want to include OpenVPN in an app, but many are beginning to move in that direction. I would love to see Hide My Ass do the same, across the board.

Your Privacy With Hide My Ass

With any security product, you want to Be Certain that the Company behind it will be operating on your best interests. This is particularly true for VPNs, which are supposed to increase privacy and security. If a VPN business is simply as nosey as your ISP, there is not much point in using it.

When I examine VPNs, I browse the company’s privacy policy And talk with agents to be able to better understand how your data is stored and used. In the case of Hide My Ass, the corporation ought to be praised on its privacy policy. It states that Hide My personal logs your own username, the timestamp of connection and disconnection, the number of information transmitted, your actual IP address, and the IP address of the server you connected to. This is not radically different from what is provided by other services. In fact, it’s quite similar to Golden Frog VyprVPN’s policy.

What is notable is that Hide My Ass Will store this data for two to three months, while VyprVPN shops it for only 30 days. Other services hold less info, or they dispose of it immediately. Hide My Ass says that it keeps this data for this particular time period in order to enhance performance, prevent fraud, and prevent bad guys from using the VPN to send spam. The organization, notably, also lists file sharing among the illegal actions it takes this information to prevent, regardless of the company being fine with the use of BitTorrent on certain servers.

It might be possible that this information could be used To correlate an individual’s identity to specific activity on the internet, but it will likely be very difficult. Even with this information, an audience would need to know which VPN host to watch and then compare this action from Hide My Ass’s logs, and also have the ability to parse out the target’s traffic from everybody else using the exact same server.

The Hide My Ass privacy policy also clearly states that it Doesn’t track or store the actual content of your internet activity. So, the support isn’t looking at your websites or the files that you are downloading. That’s great, and just what you wish to hear by a VPN company.

Before, some VPN companies monetized consumers by Injecting ads in their web traffic. Hide My Ass says it doesn’t do this, and goes much further. A business representative explained to me the company does not profit from user data at all.

The actual location of a VPN company also matters, as it Can inform what protections are given to clients. Hide My Ass works under the legal jurisdiction of England and Wales, and gets its company headquarters in London. The UK at large does have compulsory data retention laws. That is not ideal. Many other VPN services function in countries without compulsory data retention laws, or in ones that have privacy protections for customers. Hidemyass Create Account

I don’t believe it is likely to make a decision About the benefits of a business based solely on its own place. However, it is very important to comprehend the laws and policies at work in a business with such intimate access to some own information. I encourage visitors to think about this advice, and choose a VPN service.

Servers and Server Places

A key differentiator between VPN providers is the number of Servers and their distribution. A great deal of servers means you are more likely to locate a server that is not bogged down with other consumers. For its own part, Hide My Ass has a respectable 876 servers at its disposal. Nevertheless, NordVPN, Personal online accessibility, and TorGuard VPN have over 3,000 servers. These are my benchmarks for robustness in the VPN server category.

Geographic distribution of those servers is also very important. A great deal of places means more to pick from for purposes that are spoofing, but also ensures that no matter where you travel there will always be a server for the very best performance. Hide My Ass has a very impressive server places across some 220 countries. It’s easily.

The list of server places that were available Provided by Hide My Ass is especially noteworthy because regions ignored by VPN businesses are covered by it. It’s, as an instance, server locations that are numerous throughout the continent of Africa–a rarity among VPN companies. Additionally, it maintains servers in China, Russia, and Turkey, which have net policies that are repressive.

Some customers might be concerned about a company’s Usage of servers. These are software-defined servers which make servers that are several are efficiently operated as by a single server. Virtual servers may also be configured to act as if they are in 1 country when they are in a different, which is a problem if you’re concerned about where your information is traveling.

A company representative told me that a 225 of the 286 server locations provided by Hide My Ass are virtual servers. Only 61 of the server places are hardware, and 450 of Hide My Ass’s 876 servers are all virtual. That is far beyond providers. NordVPN, Private Internet Access, TunnelBear, IPVanish, and TorGuard simply utilize infrastructure.

A company representative explained that bulk of the Company’s physical server infrastructure is located in Amsterdam, Frankfurt, London, Miami, New York, Prague, Seattle, and Singapore. This doesn’t quite jibe with what Hide My Ass lists on its own site. I’d like to see future versions of Hide My Ass be clearer about when you’re connected to a virtual host.

Installation and interface

Getting Began with Hide My Ass! Is super easy and the upgraded apps are extremely user-friendly. You’ll be given a license key, As soon as you sign up for your account. You can use your own credentials (password and username ) to log into almost any app. With the aim of this inspection, we have tested out the Windows client and the iOS program. Hidemyass Create Account

Desktop

Once you’ve Established the client and logged in, you will be greeted with the Success! screen. Click Got It! To get this app’s main screen. Here you have three choices for modes: Instant Mode and Freedom Mode.

In Immediate Mode, you can click on the arrow And you’ll be linked to the server for your existing location.

In Location manner, you can choose which Server you connect to. Click on Change Location to see your options. There is a listing which enables you to choose servers based on different criteria. We all will show you an alphabetized state listing. Clicking the arrow will show you special locations within this nation.

Quick Access shows you a list of servers you have Recently connected to, as well as some choices that were recommended. Streaming will provide you a selection of two servers suitable for unblocking popular streaming services like Netflix, one in the united states and one in the united kingdom.

Peer to Peer shows You all servers that allow filesharing. Ultimately, there’s the Favorites choice; to indicate a server as a favorite, you can click on the center to the right of this server name.

Going back To the main screen, the one other option here’s Freedom Mode, that is aimed at users that want to bypass censorship. This mode will link you to a server in the closest country that’s regarded as free of censorship.

You can Get into the Settings by clicking on the menu icon at the top left-hand corner of the main display and choosing Preferences. Here, you’ll see three tabs: General and Kill Switch. In the Generalscreen, you can change your startup options, like starting when you turn on your computer or when the app launches.

Additionally you Have a Private Privacy section housing one option that relates to Quick Access in Location Mode. Then you can uncheck the box, if you would like to conceal your recent history.

Next, We’ve got the Network Security screen in which you can select settings for wifi protection. It is also possible to turn on the IP shuffle feature making it more difficult for someone to find your location by periodically changing your IP address. An additional option in this display allows you to use TCP using OpenVPN. This is only recommended if UDP is blocked or throttled. TCP is more stable, but UDP is typically faster.

The Tab is the Kill tab, where you can toggle on this feature so that it works for many programs. You choose whether or not to use it and could also add applications.

This Is a app and it both aesthetically pleasing and easy-to-use.

Mobile

Many Providers will have a mobile program that’s unrecognizable compared to the desktop version. However, HMA! Has streamlined its product, and the iOS app looks nearly identical to the Windows version.

As Soon as You’re You’ll get to the main display, which is exactly like the primary display in the app. Here you can choose from Freedom Mode, Location Mode, or Instant Mode.

The Only real difference is that when you select Location Mode, your options are presented in another manner. You have three tabs: Nations, Cities, and Favorites, but lacking are Quick Access, and the options found in the desktop such as Streaming, Peer to Peer.

To Access the streaming servers from the app, you will have to go to the Cities listing and find the Liberty Island server beneath US, New York. Even the UK Town server may also be found to UK Netflix and BBC iPlayer.

Moving on, The settings to the program can be retrieved by clicking the menu icon and selecting Settings. There you’ve got two choices: privacy and Connection Rules.

In The Link Rules segment, it is possible to adjust wifi security preferences and choose whether to auto reconnect when wifi or cellular connections are interrupted.

The solitude section only has 1 alternative: Share utilization data with third parties for analytics, which is your permission to”enable app and device usage information to be shared with third parties for analytics.” Bear in mind this is permitted by default so that it might be one of the things you wish to flip off.

Overall, This is a sleek and intuitive program, but some users may be missing additional features such as a kill switch and the option to change protocols.

Servers and performance

The Hide My Ass! Network includes over 850 servers covering over 190 nations. A number of them are virtual servers, but a consumer support representative was unable to tell us how many. Hidemyass Create Account

As we Discussed earlier, HMA presents several options for selecting the ideal server, such as different modes and the ability to mark servers as favorites. Servers that allow P2P are marked with a emblem that was P2P.

We tested Servers for performance in the UK and the usa in terms of surfing browsing, and downloading. In general, when surfing, there were no significant problems, aside from there being a noticeable slowdown in page load times when connected with a UK server. This isn’t uncommon for distant remote servers (the tests were completed in Toronto, Canada), but might be frustrating, particularly for users with slow net rates.

We did not See any lag or buffering while streaming 1080p with any of those test servers and were able to play online games without any issues.

HideMyAss! and Netflix

Hide My Ass! unblocks Netflix! But don’t expect to simply connect to some Waiter and go. We had no luck at all when we tested random servers using US Netflix with the desktop client. However, if you choose the Streaming option in the dropdown within Location Mode, you’ll see two choices: a US host (USA, New York, Liberty Island) and a UK server (UK, Donkey Town). Note that in the app, you’ll need to obtain these.

Connecting Without issue server gave us access to Netflix Into the US. Connecting to the UK one allowed access to UK Netflix in Addition to BBC iPlayer. Many providers only concentrate on supplying US Netflix access, so it is refreshing to see one that strives to give entry to the UK library too. What is more, BBC iPlayer is seriously cracking down on VPN use, so the capability to unblock this support is a nice perk.

If you’re Looking for Amazon Prime Video, you might need to go elsewhere. HMA! Is having trouble unblocking this service at a customer care representative and this time advised us that there isn’t any estimated time for when it may be working.

HideMyAss! in China?

Hide My Ass! Doesn’t operate in China. It used to, but HMA! Answers in support forums have indicated that the service will function for some users. You could try your luck, but you’d best look elsewhere if you want a trusted China VPN.

HideMyAss! Speed test functionality

For any VPN That can be used with our test procedures, we run speed tests which have been designed to be as empirical as possible. We utilize a Canadian evaluation server to connect to VPN servers in the US, the UK, Australia, Hong Kong, and Germany. For each and every place, we download a test file (50MB in size) in the US server. This can be done four times per day at intervals. The average download rate for each test is listed along with the data is displayed.

You can see From the easy graph below how HMA! Compares to the VPN services we have been testing. It’s near the front of the package in regards to download rates, while it does not have the fastest rates.

By clicking the comprehensive tab, you can see that the spread in results isn’t as tight as a number of the other evaluation VPNs. This usually means you may see some inconsistency in regards to speeds.

It’s Important to be aware that these tests are not definitive and can serve as a general indication of the functionality you may see. The internet’s volatility adds a substantial variable of randomness. What’s more, you see longer wait times with a slow link, and smaller or discrepancies. Hidemyass Create Account

Customer Services

For those who Want Any aid whilst setting up or using the service, HMA! Has a couple of alternatives for you. Clicking the Help tab on the website, you’ll find also a Knowledge Base along with a Getting Started section. These each home articles associated with setting up, troubleshooting, and general queries. There’s a crossover so before searching for other alternatives, you might choose to research both.

Additionally, You’ll locate. This is segregated into different topics; some appear to be out of date, while some are recently active. Below that, there are a number of FAQs.

If you don’t Find what you’re searching for, or you just need a response, you can click on the live chat button at the base right-hand corner of this display. The service is educated and prompt, and agents were able to quickly solve problems we encountered. At one point, a representative advised he would escalate the problem as an email request and was not able to answer some security questions. This was responded to in.

Safety and privacy

Hide My Ass! Is based. The UK is also a Five Eyes (and Fourteen Eyes) country, which means it’s part of an alliance which allows monitoring by external authorities. Plus, it’s home to the Snooper’s Charter which imposes regulations on British ISPs that impact user privacy.

For many Data retention legislation in their home country aren’t really an issue. That is because they operate with a real no-logs policy whereby no traffic or connection logs are kept by them. Even when link logs are kept by them, they can not be tied to a single user.

Regrettably, HMA! Is not one of these VPNs and contains a privacy policy that users will discover off-putting. For one, when using the service, you can expect that your IP address will be logged, along with timestamps and the amount of information used. This is a large no-no for VPNs generally. Although an IP address is considered to be information, the fact is that information can and has been used to trace the action of people. IP addresses are used in countless cases to help find and convict criminals. While we do not condone criminal actions, we are pro-privacy, and this policy simply doesn’t cut it. Hidemyass Create Account

Additionally, Hide My Ass! Telephones the VPN IP address Connected to a session. This is the IP address when you see it, that a website operator can view and document. It might technically be possible to piece together all of an individual’s internet activity since both the real and VPN IP addresses are logged, between the finish and VPN site logs. You may have seen news of a 2011 FBI situation involving HMA! Where it handed over logs which were utilized to track down a hacker that is LulzSec. This can be a black marker for privacy.

One way to Make this less of an issue and to perhaps confuse things a little is to make the most of this IP address shuffle attribute. This occasionally switches out your IP address to get another one, when enabled in the Network Security screen of the program. It would not make you untraceable but may add a layer of obfuscation.

Privacy Issues aside, on the safety front, Hide My Ass! Fares pretty well. It utilizes. This perfect forward secrecy and is in combination with 4096-bit RSA keys. It employs exactly the OpenVPN protocol over UDP by default, but you can change to TCP within the desktop client. PPTP, L2TP, IPSec are also available, depending on which app you’re using.

The background versions boast an Integrated kill button which can be tailored To work for specific programs. A kill switch will kill the online connection should the VPN link drop for some reason. This attribute is not available in the mobile apps

A live chat Customer service representative informed us that there’s no DNS leak protection. But another company representative promised us that there is in fact DNS and IPv6 leak protection, but no WebRTC leak protection. When the support was analyzed by us for leaks, we didn’t observe any DNS leak problems aside from leaks. HMA! Whereas ones would be preferable from a privacy standpoint, does use DNS servers that are public.

1 handy Feature that Hide My Ass! Provides is automatic wifi protection, which is customized at the from the Network Security section of the desktop client or the mobile app’s Connection Rules tab settings.

Features and pricing

Hide My Ass! Offers one product with prices you register for. It is definitely not one of the least expensive services available, which could be an immediate turnoff for some users. A 12-month planwill set you back $6.99 per month, which can be greater than the average price for a similar duration. What is more, a lot of VPN suppliers will offer an extended plan; for instance, a two- or three-year term with discounts. Hidemyass Create Account

If You are not ready to sign up for a term only yet, HMA! Does provide a six-month plan for $7.99 a month or you could pay on a monthly basis for $11.99 per month. These rates are a bit above average when you compare to competitors.

Payment Options include PayPal major credit cards, and UnionPay. Unfortunately bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are payment methods. There’s a generous 30-day money-back guarantee, so if you are not entirely satisfied with the service, you’ll have your payment deducted.

So what do You get for your money? Hide My Ass! Has a community of more than 850 servers in over 180 countries. Some are dedicated to accessing streaming websites and certain servers permit P2P filesharing (read: torrenting). All plans have unlimited bandwidth and you can connect up to five devices simultaneously. Apps are available for Windows, MacOS, iOS, and Android. The VPN can be manually configured with some routers and Linux. Pre-configured routers are available as an alternate.

From a Security standpoint, HMA! Provides perfect forward secrecy, encryption , automatic wifi security, and the desktop apps come with a kill switch. However, the coverage issues which plagued the service from the past stay, so privacy is still an issue.

Conclusion

For the most part, HMA! Provides a fantastic support. It has a network of servers, infinite bandwidth, and fast speeds. It is in a position to unblock streaming services like Netflix UK Netflix US, and BBC iPlayer. Additionally, it gives customer support security, and intuitive apps.

On the Surface, it feels like HMA! Would be a fantastic alternative for torrenters, with no information Caps and a few servers acceptable for P2P. The problems with the solitude Coverage are a concern in addition to any other privacy-conscious users. Indeed, this is the only for this Provider, but it’s a large one. Other issues include the inability to operate Reliably in the price tag along with China. Hidemyass Create Account